The baying mob

I suspect that I'm not the only one who finds today - and yesterday's - Scottish Sun front page really uncomfortable. It says a lot about us as a society.

The element I find most uncomfortable about all of this is that we are taking what, in some cases, are vulnerable folk, shoving them in a newspaper and allowing everyone else to goad at them, essentially for our own entertainment and perhaps even to make us feel good about ourselves short term. 

Presumably we're meant to read this article and think "wow, thank goodness I'm not a sponger" or "thank goodness I'm not that fat" or "Haha, look at that article ironically saying BIG exclusive" or "that's a bit of an dodgy headline and photo". The list goes on.

The fact that we're getting played off against eachother so brazenly should surely be clear for all to see. I wonder how the school cleaner in today's article - who has clearly fallen for the Sun's trap hook, line and sinker - feels about being labelled by her weight and used as some sort of lightning conductor against what must surely be a vulnerable mother and daughter. 

Today it might be us looking at the story and taking comfort in the fact that our lives aren't like that, indeed going so far as enjoying a good giggle at someone else's expense. 

How would we feel if we weren't the laughing audience - the baying mob - but instead the target? Until we start rejecting this kind of puerile gutter journalism and obsession with taking joy in the misery of others, then I fear our day too will come. 

How we treat others says a lot about us as a society. 

And I'm afraid that today's front page, although clearly not representative of all of society, doesn't suggest that humanity has come very far from the days of folk going along to theatres and watching two humans literally fight each other to death, simply for the entertainment of the baying mob.

Faith and deeds

I appreciate that for some folk reading this, Christianity is a concept very much viewed in the abstract. For others it is all just a fanciful fairytale and it really irks them that folk pursue the Christian faith. Some are non-plussed about it, perhaps just apathetic. Finally, for some - like me - it is their personal faith (note use of the word faith, not religion) and it means a lot to them.

Depending on which of the these categories you might describe yourself as being in, I guess that might determine your approach to reading this... Some might have seen the words "religion" or "faith" and they've already hit the exit button. So, if you've got this far, then thanks for staying with me! 

My faith has always tended to be a relatively personal thing. If asked, then I've tended to answer what it means to me. One of the personal activities that Christians are encouraged to do regularly is devotions.

Devotions, sometimes referred to as quiet time, are done at a particular time of day. For me, it is morning. Devotions generally take the form of reading a particular scripture of the Bible, reading a devotional text which raises questions (they can perhaps challenge or encourage you). That tends to be followed by some time in prayer to God. 

I work from a Bible app on my iPhone (you'll have worked out by now that I'm not from the Amish denominaton of Christianity). It pops up early each morning for me to read after I wake up. If you're interested in this Bible app (I've got a secular friend who once downloaded and read the Bible simply to see what all the fuss is about and hone their arguments against Christianity - I'd encourage you to do that too), it's easily downloaded for free from the apple store. You can search for it under "YouVersion". 

This morning's devotion came from the letter of James. I'm working through a series at the moment entitled "Living a better story". James has always been one of my favourite parts of the Bible. It's essentially a very practical letter that James wrote to the Church. 

This morning's reading came from James chapter two, verses 14 through 17.

Here it is:

It certainly challenged me and I thought I'd share it for some of the other Christians also reading this blog. If you're not a Christian, perhaps it's challenged you too, particularly verse 15. 

Will we, won't we?

Half way through the season and now is perhaps a good time to reflect on where we (Airdrieonians) are at. The big question is will we or won't we make the play-offs.

The new league campaign kicked off with what might arguably have been false optimism. After a Lazarus like revival in the '14 part of season 2013/14, we went from being doomed to automatic relegation, to finishing a few points away from the promotion play-offs. That gave many of us, myself included, a real hope that the Diamonds could mount a challenge for promotion to the Championship (I still prefer to call it the First Division, though) this season. Added to that late amazing run of form, we also won all our pre-season friendlies this year, although admittedly the opposition was pretty weak.

So, first league game of the season and our bubble was well and truly burst when - away to Stenny - we lost 1-0. It actually took us until 27th September to record our first league win (albeit in style with a last minute equaliser AND then a cracking winning goal) against Ayr United at Somerset Park.

Our autumn part of the season was on/off, largely due to losing stupid goals in the last 15/20 minutes.

There's been a wee bit of optimism amongst our fans recently due to our unbeaten run from 22nd November until yesterday, 10th January. The feeling, particularly following our away win at Morton last week, was (and for some, still is) that we can get into the play-offs this year. Will we or won't we? I'm still not sure either way.

So, here's the state of play just now:

We are just seven points away from being in the play-off zone, although the teams above us have games in hand. Time will tell whether or not we make it to the play-offs but a couple of thoughts spring to mind. 

First, positive, is that, below is the league table this time LAST season. We've got double the points we had the equivalent time last year.

My next, negative, point of caveated in that of course I don't think any team in this year's league is unbeatable for us. However, our next three games will test our metal and perhaps give us a picture as to whether or not we should keep the 9th and 16th of May free.  However, if we are to break into that play-off zone we really need to be winning (or at worst, picking up points from) games like the one yesterday. We need to be climbing above the likes of Peterhead, Dunfermline and Brechin. 

Yesterday was a missed opportunity but the rest of January has a few interesting, and perhaps crucial, fixtures.

By the time we got to the end of season 13/14, we were left kicking ourselves that we'd just fallen short of the play-offs for the sake of a few points. I put a lot of that down to having dropped points early in the season. 

Let's not get to the end of this season and conclude that it was dropping those points in January that did it this time.

Introduction

Readers who already know me will be aware that, until fairly recently, much of my time was taken up with campaigning for a Yes vote in the Scottish independence referendum. 

As tens of thousands were joining the SNP post-referendum, many were signing up to be branch office bearers, going for selection as Westminster candidates and generally immersing themselves in the new found excitement and enthusiasm of party politics. I am very happy that they've done so, and it's great to see the SNP tent bigger and stronger than ever before! 

For me, I went in the slightly opposite direction. As everyone else threw themselves into Westminster selection contests, I decided it was time to enjoy a bit of my spare time after years of electioneering and campaigning for independence. I made a commitment to my friends, my wife and myself that, after the referendum, I would try to take a step back from the endless hours of leafleting, canvassing and ferocious political tweeting. I still do all of that on a much smaller scale but not to the extent that my Facebook and twitter feeds would give you the impression that there is little else to life than rattling letterboxes and campaign selfies...

Regardless of the outcome of the referendum, I made a decision that, once it was all over and done with, I would buy and use an Airdrieonians FC season ticket again; attend Church on a regular basis and develop my new interest in fishing.

So, true to my word, I ceased being Branch Organiser for Glasgow Shettleston SNP, stood down as SNP youth National Convener and its representative to party NEC. 

Passing on those commitments has allowed me to pursue fishing, football and faith... amongst other interests, of course. This blog is designed to allow me to muse away on these topics, share the odd photo and generally throw some thoughts out there, and perhaps get feedback on the fishing! 

I've never been one for writing a daily diary, partly because I don't always have the time. However, it seemed to me that a blog might be a good way of sharing my interests and photos with family, friends and those who have similar interests.

Although I still work in politics, this isn't meant to be a political blog and I don't really foresee using this to promote political views and opinions. There are plenty of other places to get analysis and insight into Scottish, UK and international politics. 

It may well be that this blog lasts a few weeks and, due to lack of time, interest or interaction, it simply fades away into hibernation. Hopefully it doesn't, though. 

So, here goes...